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When it comes to his boyfriend, Barcode knows many things.
He knows that Jeff is obsessed with chasing perfection.
He knows that Jeff likes to lock himself up in the studio for hours, long past when they bid each other goodnight over the phone.
He knows that Jeff’s chronic lack of sleep directly correlates with his most intense bursts of creative energy, during which half-scribbled lyrics are lifted off the page and magically transformed into chart-topping hits.
But above all, Barcode knows that Jeff is tired.
He hasn’t seen him in person in nearly three months, but if the updates provided by his boyfriend's mother’s Facebook page are anything to go by, Barcode knows that Jeff hasn’t exactly been practicing self-care.
Without the younger physically there to watch over him like a hawk, he knows that Jeff's regressed into his old habits— skipping meals and performing while sick, straining his voice to the point of hospitalization.
He still hasn’t forgiven Jeff for worrying him to death.
It’s why Barcode can’t keep his hands off of him when they reunite at the Man Suang event— why he's glued to Jeff’s side until they’re tucked safely into the van leaving the venue, and why he spends the entirety of dinner with Jeff's family sneaking extra pieces of steak onto his boyfriend's plate.
Their trip to Korea can’t come soon enough.
Even after excusing themselves from the movie premiere early, the boys don’t land at Incheon Airport until the wee hours of the morning.
Jeff had to book a separate flight due to last-minute scheduling issues, and the five-hour journey in the air feels closer to fifteen. Both of Barcode's legs still end up stiff and cramped despite sitting in business class, and to this day, he can’t fathom how Jeff can survive being on a plane for what seems like half of his waking hours.
The shuttle ride to the hotel is rainy and uneventful, and they have less than an hour before they're expected to be on set. Barcode's already exhausted by the thought.
After settling into his room, he bumps into Alpha in the hallway, who politely invites him to grab coffee after they exchange pleasantries. He tags along only because Alpha’s genuinely so excited to see him, but deep down, all Barcode wants to do is drag his boyfriend to bed.
Jeff arrives shortly after with P’Venus, and the boys are quickly escorted to the set. They shoot until almost midnight, until their clothes become damp with the mist of the rain and their bones ache with the chill of the evening breeze.
By the time they return to the hotel, Barcode simply can’t wait to wind down and relax. He makes a quick pit stop in his room to change into his pajamas.
Jeff is thankfully staying just down the hall.
He knocks twice and the door slides open, revealing his shirtless boyfriend, loose boxers slung low on his hips. The dark eye bags he's also sporting are frankly concerning, and as much as Barcode’s waited months to jump his bones, making sure Jeff is well-rested ranks as a higher priority at that moment.
After a quick and efficient shower together, they cuddle up in bed. With Jeff's back pressed firmly into his chest, Barcode drapes an arm around his boyfriend’s waist with a yawn.
It’s warm and cozy and perfect.
He’s on the verge of drifting off to sleep when Jeff fidgets restlessly in his hold, not for the first time tonight. The older boy can’t seem to get comfortable despite Barcode anchoring him into place, and he just knows that Jeff’s mind is racing a mile a minute.
“Hey. You okay?"
Jeff tenses immediately, so Barcode presses a sympathetic kiss onto his nape.
“You really should get some sleep. We have another long day on set tomorrow.”
He feels Jeff suck in a quiet breath. “I’m trying.”
“Is there something bothering you?”
“I… don’t think so. Just hard for me to fall asleep lately,” Jeff exhales. “Maybe it’s the jet lag, all the traveling back and forth. I barely slept on the plane.”
Barcode feels a stab of guilt at that—how he himself had dozed off shortly after takeoff, the buzzing adrenaline from being on the red carpet having long worn off. He also feels like a selfish and useless partner, like there’s nothing he can do to help Jeff relax in the rare moments they spend together.
Well, Barcode thinks.
Maybe there is something.
“P’Jeff.” He nudges him lightly with his nose. “Turn around.”
Jeff pauses and shifts, rolling over until they’re face-to-face. Under the moonlight that peeks through the curtain, he resembles an almost ethereal beauty. He looks like a painting, like something that doesn’t belong in this world at all, and Barcode is momentarily stunned.
“I, uh,” Barcode stumbles over his words. “I have an idea.”
“Huh?” Jeff blinks. “What do you mean?”
“I can, um—.” He’s still not used to verbalizing his desires, especially while in bed, and it takes Barcode a second to gather the confidence.
Jeff presses their foreheads together, sensing his hesitation. “Take your time.”
“You know sometimes when I have way too much energy at night, and you… you know, to help calm me down.” Barcode’s not sure if his explanation makes any sense, and unfortunately, Jeff just stares at him in confusion.
“Last time we stayed here, that time we showered together after I got back from the gym, when you...” Barcode tries again, praying his boyfriend somehow understands because saying the actual words out loud might set his face on fire. “I want to do that to you, for you, with my mouth—”
Jeff stiffens with realization. “Code, you don’t have to—”
“I know,” Barcode interrupts. “But I want to.”
“It's already so late, you need rest too—”
“No, you need it more. Just trust me.”
“Are you sure…?”
“Please,” Barcode pleads, jutting his lower lip out. “Let me try.”
He drags the covers aside right then and there to show he means business, pushing up onto his hands and knees as Jeff rolls onto his back and watches him with bated breath.
Barcode shifts further down until he’s nestled in between his boyfriend’s thighs. In the safety of the dark, it’s easy to peel Jeff’s boxers down with his fingers, but knowing what to do next proves to be more difficult. He suddenly feels incredibly out of his depth, his face inches away from Jeff’s already half-hard cock.
He tries to recall the handful of times Jeff had done it to him, always leaving him a whimpering and quivering mess, but his brain doesn’t seem to be functioning. His stomach whirls at the idea of it heavy on his tongue, the weight of it gliding in and out of his lips.
Well. Here goes nothing.
Carefully, he brings a tentative hand around the base of Jeff’s cock, using the other to brace himself upright. Jeff lifts his hips up subconsciously, the silent motion giving him to courage to lower his head and touch his mouth to the tip.
It feels hot against him, hotter than expected. He opens up ever so slightly, darting out his tongue to have a taste.
His boyfriend lets out a strangled sound and clutches at his shoulder.
“Code—”
Barcode’s face flushes with heat as he gives Jeff’s cock a firmer lick.
“Is this… is this okay?”
“Okay…?” Jeff repeats hoarsely, not unlike the way he sounds after rehearsing all night for his concerts. “You don’t even know how hot you look right now.”
He really doesn’t, but judging by how the older boy twitches against him, he figures he must be doing something right. He supposes whatever he lacks in coordination, he’ll just make up with enthusiasm.
He channels all of his focus, trailing a hot stripe up the underside of Jeff’s cock before eagerly lapping over the slit. He misses the way Jeff’s eyes begin to darken, a wild expression taking over his gentle face.
“Yes, just like that,” Jeff rumbles out as he arches up, both hands fisting into the sheets. “Good boy—”
The praise does something funny to his insides, and Barcode can’t help but strain his eyes to look up at Jeff mid-lick. The brief second of eye contact sizzles hot between them, enough to send a sharp prickle of bravery down Barcode’s spine.
He noses back at Jeff’s cock before attempting to swallow him down in one fell swoop, and he’s rewarded with a loud curse. The older boy’s pale thighs begin to quake with pleasure, even though Barcode’s pretty sure he’s only fit about half of him into his mouth so far.
Even so, he keeps himself there for as long as he can hold it, pushing down inch by stubborn inch. His throat quickly constricts as he almost chokes, his ambition getting the best of him, and he pulls himself off with a wet gasp.
“Mmph—”
“S-slow down, baby,” Jeff manages as he props himself up on his elbows, fully out of breath. His whole body is shaking. “Don’t push yourself too hard—”
“Tell me what to do,” Barcode almost begs. “I don’t think I can fit—”
“Use your hands too if it’s easier,” Jeff rasps out, his eyes glassy with arousal. “Don’t force it.”
Barcode takes him back into his mouth dutifully, sinking down until his lips meet his own hand. His palm feels a little too rough to the touch— probably from all that guitar he’s been playing as a part-time busker— so he pulls off briefly to spit on it.
It takes a bit to catch the right rhythm again, but every combined movement pulls another beautiful noise out from Jeff’s throat. Barcode doesn’t know what he likes more— the sounds his boyfriend makes in bed, or being utterly in control of them.
“That feels amazing,” Jeff groans with encouragement. “You’ve got it now—”
He’s silenced back into pleasure when Barcode's hand speeds up in time with his eager mouth, the pace so frantic and sloppy that Jeff starts to whimper.
Barcode closes his eyes and loses himself into it. He barely notices Jeff sneaking a hand down to tangle his fingers into his hair, still damp from their shower earlier. The light tugging at his scalp only spurs him on as he bobs his head up and down in earnest.
Jeff keeps his unwavering gaze on him the whole time, only tipping his head back when Barcode uses his tongue to tease circles around the head of his cock.
“God, I missed you.” Jeff tightens his grip around Barcode’s hair possessively.
“Missed you so much, missed that pretty little mouth—”
Barcode’s eyes flutter open in a daze, a look of pure innocence, but the way he licks his lips with satisfaction is slow and deliberate.
“Is it good…?”
“So good, sweetheart.” Jeff swallows hard, his voice ragged around the edges. “Keep that up, you’re gonna make me—”
The taut plane of his abs flex as Barcode wraps his lips back around his cock with renewed determination, and if he wasn’t so devoted to the task at hand, he could probably get off from the image alone.
The second time around is easier, but god, his mouth is so full, the sensation of it so heady and intoxicating Barcode feels utterly consumed by it. He stretches his lips wider and Jeff bucks up again, urgent and helpless, like it’s taking all his strength not to bury himself deeper into the warm velvet heat.
“Not gonna last if you—”
Barcode kicks it up another notch by hollowing his cheeks. He drops his hands in an effort to rely solely on the depth of his mouth, eyes straining with the squeeze. Jeff's cock starts to bump against the back of his throat, and Barcode moans desperately around him.
“Fuck—”
Jeff's lower half starts to stutter uncontrollably, and Barcode can feel it before it happens, his boyfriend’s cock somehow swelling even further into his hot and tight mouth.
He grips Jeff’s hip hard as the older cries out with his eyes slammed shut, pleasure rippling through his body from head to toe as he rides through his orgasm. Barcode remains still, his throat working to swallow whatever he can on pure instinct.
He doesn't know how long he stays like this, a few seconds or maybe closer to a minute, his head trapped in a fog as Jeff pulses into his waiting mouth.
“Christ.” Jeff slumps back against the mattress, drawing in a long and shuddering breath. “I love you.”
At the feeling of Jeff going limp beneath him, Barcode sags his shoulders with relief. His lips slide off his cock with a wet pop that would have been embarrassing if he wasn’t still so hopelessly turned on.
Slowly, dazedly, he leans forward until his forehead touches Jeff’s thigh. He thinks he must look ridiculous with his hair matted with sweat, his chin streaked with multiple lines of come.
“Come here,” Jeff pants as he heaves himself up to a sitting position, tugging at the younger boy to crawl back up beside him.
“Let me take care of you, my love—”
Jeff sinks a hand under the waistband of his boxers, and Barcode stifles a moan from the sensitivity. He’s painfully aware of how hard his own cock is, straining against the tight fabric, wet and wholly untouched.
Everything blurs, and with barely two strokes of Jeff’s deft wrist, he spins wildly over the edge. His blood pounds in his ears as he comes messily into Jeff’s hand, leaking all over his own underwear.
“Jesus, baby,” Jeff chokes out in awe. “Is that all you needed?”
There’s no judgment in Jeff’s tone, just pure amazement, but it still takes Barcode a full five seconds to remember how to form words.
“I, um,” Barcode bites his lip in a panic. “P’Jeff—”
Jeff lifts his other hand to tilt the younger's chin up. “Hey, you're okay—"
“I was already all wound up from when I was… you know," Barcode whines out in embarrassment, not daring to look him in the eyes just yet. "I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be,” Jeff cuts him off. “Watching you come like that was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Really? But I didn’t feel very…” Barcode trails off. “It was kinda fast, sorry—”
“If you apologize one more time,” Jeff warns sternly as he rubs a thumb over Barcode’s lower lip. “I’m gonna flip you over right now and return the favor.”
"But—"
“Then neither of us will get any sleep,” he adds before Barcode can interject again.
And with that, his boyfriend’s threat breaks him out of his spell. With Jeff’s gentle urging, he waddles into the bathroom to clean himself up. He debates hopping back into the shower considering the state he's in, but in the end, washing his face and changing into fresh boxers feels like enough.
The sheets are deliciously warm when Barcode finally climbs back into bed, and it’s easy for him to slip right back into place as the big spoon.
“P’Jeff…?” His lips brush against Jeff’s bare back.
There’s no answer from the other side of the pillow. Jeff’s seemingly out cold, fast asleep by the way his upper body rises and falls steadily against the younger’s chest.
For the first time in a long time, Barcode feels absurdly proud of himself.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispers, snuggling closer with a satisfied little sigh.